LEGATO Final Conference: Sustainable rice production in Southeast Asia05.08.2016

LEGATO will hold its Final Conference from 6 to 11 August 2016 in Banaue, Philippines. The event will feature results and outcomes from the 5-year research venture which aimed at promoting the long-term development of sustainable irrigated rice cultivation in Southeast Asia, with focus also on the risks arising from global change.

LEGATO stands for 'Land-use intensity and Ecological Engineering - Assessment Tools for risks and Opportunities in irrigated rice based production systems'. As an important crop and staple food in the Southeast Asian region, rice faces multiple challenges posed by the growing pressures of our changing world. The project results focus on providing guidelines for optimising rice ecosystem functions and services given the local socio-cultural conditions and their stabilisation under future climate and land use change, which will particularly affect South and Southeast Asia.

During the Final LEGATO Conference, partners will present their studies ranging from the influence of Silicon concentrations in plants on rice production or the contribution of pollinators and soil organisms to biodiversity and nutrient provisioning, towards discussing the importance of the socio-cultural context for sustainable development or ecotourism in the region.

A dedicated citizen science day will engage students from a local school into a one day field trip where they will have the chance to look at butterflies and dragonflies and learn about their role and importance in rice production.